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Welcome to The Shack

Published on August 06, 2009.

"The Shack" is how agency Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners is reintroducing the public to Radio Shack in its much discussed new campaign. But don't call it a name change.

BSSP is using the abbreviated moniker in a multimedia campaign that incorporates a series of 15 second spots, a Facebook presence, in-store signage and other elements, including a live, bi-coastal three day event in New York and San Francisco.

"The campaign was all about making Radio shack more friendly and approachable," says BSSP ECD John Butler. "People trust friends, not necessarily corporations. Although we aren't changing the name of the company to the Shack, it's who they are in their DNA, and we felt it was more colloquial. When we pitched the business with this idea, they told us "The Shack" has been an internal name for years, their sales associates affectionately refer to the company that way."

Butler was in New York today overseeing the launch of the New York/San Francisco "Netogether" that linked Times Square and SF's Justin Herman Plaza with two giant laptops and a live video feed. An ongoing series of events will roll out from August 6 to 8, from tech advice to yoga (and a live concert from The Roots that starts at 7:15 August 6).

"We wanted to go out there highlighting a lot of different products and brand messages," says Butler of the spot campaign. "We wanted ubiquity. We like to think of these as 'Shackisms' and the thinking is that you will see dozens of them a year. They are quite different for the consumer electronics category. They are less narrative driven and more fashion and design driven. We wanted them to feel like interstitials that focused on specific brand truths or products. Being retail, the bulk of them feature current products."